Power and Place, by Vine Deloria, Jr. and Daniel R. Wildcat, Copyright 2001 published through Fulcrum Resources, is a book on Native American Indian education and the issues facing Native American students in the American school system. This collection of sixteen essays discusses problems in western civilization’s attempt to educate the indigenous people, Wildcat's term for Native Americans.
Wildcat declares “The Native American still does not fit comfortably or conveniently into western civilization.” He says this is not something that the indigenous people should regret. Each essay is a dialog that begins with explaining the current situation, the western ways, and how indigenous ways could be used to respond to the problems.
An example is in the essay of “Understanding the Crisis,” Wildcat points out how scientists want to solve the energy crisis with technology. He declares that this crisis cannot be solved by technology alone, but through the philosophy of how we live. This formula is repeated as Delora and Wildcat have an essay-by-essay dialog about the system, how it works, and how it could or should work.
Monday, March 30, 2009
A Man’s Reply Without Apology
From time-to-time I read an article that is so absurd that I cannot help but feel the writers of it live in a fantasy world where life is either much better or worse than it really is. In the article of “Indigenous Feminism Without Apology,” a very angry woman, Andrea Smith, rants about the fanatical Christian Right as if it was the controlling power of all decisions in the United States. By looking at the most extreme cases of bigotry and close-mindedness, Smith paints a nightmarish picture of a country controlled by the white church where every non-white lives in poverty under the lash of the elite white class who controls everything.
While it is true that there are problems, it is not as bad as Andrea Smith claims. Her article is posted on an extremist website that makes it sound like we live in a Fascist society. Like a paranoid scitzofrantic who thinks "the man" is out to get them, they conspire to survive in a country that is not as closed minded and racist as they like to pretend it is.
I see no reason to give this article any more of my attention. If life really was this one-sided, then I, a white, blond haired, blue eyed, man, would need a monocle and a really twisty mustache that I could twiddle as I schemed my next diabolical act against women and brown people.
While it is true that there are problems, it is not as bad as Andrea Smith claims. Her article is posted on an extremist website that makes it sound like we live in a Fascist society. Like a paranoid scitzofrantic who thinks "the man" is out to get them, they conspire to survive in a country that is not as closed minded and racist as they like to pretend it is.
I see no reason to give this article any more of my attention. If life really was this one-sided, then I, a white, blond haired, blue eyed, man, would need a monocle and a really twisty mustache that I could twiddle as I schemed my next diabolical act against women and brown people.
Monday, March 23, 2009
The Sacred Hoop Summery
The Sacred Hoop, by Paula Gunn Allen, is the first gyncentric book of Native American feminism published in the United States. This book is a gyncentric collection of essays, poetry and fiction, from many feminine writers, tells and retells stories both new and old. Stories of a time when women were the rock of the tribe and female wisdom was honored.
The Sacred Hoop is full of information and is structured in three parts. The beginning is about the past, the role of our grandmothers and the sacred. The middle is about the present, Contemporary poets and stories. The end is about souls, families, and stories from other tribal cultures. As the first gyncentric book, The Sacred Hoop is the base line for all other books of its kind. It is a place where Indians and spirits are always found together.
The Sacred Hoop is full of information and is structured in three parts. The beginning is about the past, the role of our grandmothers and the sacred. The middle is about the present, Contemporary poets and stories. The end is about souls, families, and stories from other tribal cultures. As the first gyncentric book, The Sacred Hoop is the base line for all other books of its kind. It is a place where Indians and spirits are always found together.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Civilized Marbles
Once upon a time there was a boy named Joey. Joey's prized possession was a bag of marbles. He treasured them and played with them and marveled at how pretty they were. One day a bigger boy with red hair named Tommy pushed Joey down and stole his marbles. Joey cried and cried and then he got angry. Joey watched Tommy, hated Tommy, plotted against Tommy.
One day, Joey saw that Tommy had left his marbles unattended. Joey sneaked over and stole his marbles back AND stole Tommy's marbles too. Now Joey had all of the marbles, but he was still angry. Later on he saw a boy named Jeffrey. Jeffrey had red hair too and this made Joey angry. When Jeffrey's back was turned, Joey stole Jeffrey's marbles too. When his parents caught him, he told them of the other red haired boy who stole his marbles and said that it was okay because all red haired boys were thieves.
This is what modern American Feminism has become. All the women who have had their marbles stolen are trying to steal all of the marbles of every man because some men have hurt women. The same can be said about racism, religious persecution, and any other type of power struggle that exists in our culture. We need to get OUR marbles back, but share the others. That is what it means to be “civilized.”
One day, Joey saw that Tommy had left his marbles unattended. Joey sneaked over and stole his marbles back AND stole Tommy's marbles too. Now Joey had all of the marbles, but he was still angry. Later on he saw a boy named Jeffrey. Jeffrey had red hair too and this made Joey angry. When Jeffrey's back was turned, Joey stole Jeffrey's marbles too. When his parents caught him, he told them of the other red haired boy who stole his marbles and said that it was okay because all red haired boys were thieves.
This is what modern American Feminism has become. All the women who have had their marbles stolen are trying to steal all of the marbles of every man because some men have hurt women. The same can be said about racism, religious persecution, and any other type of power struggle that exists in our culture. We need to get OUR marbles back, but share the others. That is what it means to be “civilized.”
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Christianity and Native American Spirituality
The concept of having a mixed belief system is not new to me. A person can be a Christian and a Native American if they choose to be, there is nothing evil about it. Unfortunately the Native American tribes have been told that they are ignorant, savage, and evil due to their tribal beliefs.
At the Wednesday night meeting we watched a video, in between speeches, and there were several very good arguments made. My favorite was, “One was that, there are so many Christians who insist that there is only one God and only one way to worship that God and yet there are so many different types of Christianity in existence. If the Christians cannot agree how to worship their own God, how can they tell the Native Americans that they are doing it wrong?
Bob Thomas, a Native American, said, “We too have a covenant with the creator.” One main thing I did learn, was that many of the problems on the Indian Reservations 1970 was that the different tribes had a major identity crisis. On the reservations they disagreed as to who they were. They fought among themselves. Then in Stony Indian Park tribes from around North America began to send their tribal elders to a conference.
This conference allowed the elders to discover that things were rough all over. No one tribe had all of the problems, and many of their problems were the same. Another discovery was that when these elders and medicine men talked about their faiths, they found many similarities. They decided that they all had different ways of respecting the world and that was alright. This brought them all closer together and allowed them to work together to revitalize the old ways.
While this is not the end of the story, it is the important part. If this movement were allowed to continue then life on the reservations might be nicer than they currently are but Christian fundamentalists are never able to leave this sort of thing alone. Very powerful right wing groups continue to attack the Native American traditions as evil. Unfortunately, some people listen to these ignorant people who are afraid of anything different than themselves.
The narrow vision cannot accept difference. Our world is full of variety and much of it is wonderful. Unfortunately there are many out there who believes different is bad. In the case of the Native Americans, this sows mistrust and strife to people who have already suffered enough.
At the Wednesday night meeting we watched a video, in between speeches, and there were several very good arguments made. My favorite was, “One was that, there are so many Christians who insist that there is only one God and only one way to worship that God and yet there are so many different types of Christianity in existence. If the Christians cannot agree how to worship their own God, how can they tell the Native Americans that they are doing it wrong?
Bob Thomas, a Native American, said, “We too have a covenant with the creator.” One main thing I did learn, was that many of the problems on the Indian Reservations 1970 was that the different tribes had a major identity crisis. On the reservations they disagreed as to who they were. They fought among themselves. Then in Stony Indian Park tribes from around North America began to send their tribal elders to a conference.
This conference allowed the elders to discover that things were rough all over. No one tribe had all of the problems, and many of their problems were the same. Another discovery was that when these elders and medicine men talked about their faiths, they found many similarities. They decided that they all had different ways of respecting the world and that was alright. This brought them all closer together and allowed them to work together to revitalize the old ways.
While this is not the end of the story, it is the important part. If this movement were allowed to continue then life on the reservations might be nicer than they currently are but Christian fundamentalists are never able to leave this sort of thing alone. Very powerful right wing groups continue to attack the Native American traditions as evil. Unfortunately, some people listen to these ignorant people who are afraid of anything different than themselves.
The narrow vision cannot accept difference. Our world is full of variety and much of it is wonderful. Unfortunately there are many out there who believes different is bad. In the case of the Native Americans, this sows mistrust and strife to people who have already suffered enough.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Down by the River
Ms. Powell makes me happy. She is not hostile and angry, she is a lover of stories. She has learned that stories are the way for us to learn about each other. Her power to hear and tell stories is wonderful. She is a true woman of the world.
Story 1 is a fine example of how we should all live and feel. Our lives, much like our bead work, are things that we tend to work so hard not to ruin that we make it all way harder than it needs to be. We exhaust ourselves, cramp our hands, focus really hard, and miss the whole point of what we were trying to learn in the first place.
Evelyn, an Okla-homa Miami elder, reminds us: “Honey, don't work so hard-it should feel just right when you do it, just like this, comfortable but controlled-you don't want your hands to cramp up. Everybody's different, y'know, but you want to be comfortable while you're beading...”
This is how we should live life... we should start by listening to our elders more.
Story 2 is about our intentions. Our egos are very fragile at times. Often we work toward an unrealistic goal of perfection and we fall flat in the process. If we could simply work for the joy of working or work as a form of thanks to those who came before us then we would work more easily. The irony is that in working for the perfection of our egos we generally end up messing our work up worse than if we just worked for joy.
Later in the article, we see La Flesche's stories about being of two races. She does not see this as a curse but as a blessing. With the education of two cultures swimming in her brain, she is able to call upon more information than either group could alone. By opening herself up to multiple points of view she is more flexible and happier.
Story 1 is a fine example of how we should all live and feel. Our lives, much like our bead work, are things that we tend to work so hard not to ruin that we make it all way harder than it needs to be. We exhaust ourselves, cramp our hands, focus really hard, and miss the whole point of what we were trying to learn in the first place.
Evelyn, an Okla-homa Miami elder, reminds us: “Honey, don't work so hard-it should feel just right when you do it, just like this, comfortable but controlled-you don't want your hands to cramp up. Everybody's different, y'know, but you want to be comfortable while you're beading...”
This is how we should live life... we should start by listening to our elders more.
Story 2 is about our intentions. Our egos are very fragile at times. Often we work toward an unrealistic goal of perfection and we fall flat in the process. If we could simply work for the joy of working or work as a form of thanks to those who came before us then we would work more easily. The irony is that in working for the perfection of our egos we generally end up messing our work up worse than if we just worked for joy.
Later in the article, we see La Flesche's stories about being of two races. She does not see this as a curse but as a blessing. With the education of two cultures swimming in her brain, she is able to call upon more information than either group could alone. By opening herself up to multiple points of view she is more flexible and happier.
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